A severe cold front hit Ji’nan at the beginning of 2016, resulting in snowfall and a drop in temperature down to -17°C. Meanwhile, the cold wave swept away the haze that had plagued the North China Plain, bringing with it sunny days. I received the Gitzo GH3382QD ball head several days ago, but have been unable to use it due to the smog. The cold front finally gave me a chance to try it out.
The Gitzo GH3382QD ball head is the latest model of Gitzo’s center ball heads. As a flagship model of this series, the Gitzo GH3382QD has a ball diameter of up to 49.4mm, but only weights 0.77kg because of its hollow metal ball. The biggest highlight of this head is the use of a tungsten disulfide (WS2) coating on its surface. This material is the smoothest material known to the world. By contrast, traditional ball heads always use PTFE, the material used as a non-stick coating for cooking pans. WS2 has an extremely low coefficient of friction, so when the head is rotated, the locking mechanism provides smooth damping and locks the head effortlessly to prevent it from drooping to the maximum extent.
This head is creatively designed to integrate the damping control into the thick lock knob so there are only two lock knobs on the head, giving it a very compact structure. The two knobs are clearly marked to avoid confusion. I once borrowed a friend’s ball head and was confused by the three knobs, each of a similar size.
This head can fit most Arca-Swiss quick release plates, which is good news for those who prefer L-type quick-release plate tabs. There is a horizontal bubble next to the quick release plate and a horizontal line on the ball that matches the line surrounding the small “window” on the head body, which serves to ensure a perfectly vertical strut. The vertical axis guarantees the direction of rotation is parallel with the horizon when mounting tabs.
The head provides a horizontal rotation lock knob and horizontal scale to ensure a precise angle of rotation when mounting tabs. What’s strange is that almost all the heads I’ve seen feature a scale on the base and the rotating head body only has one position mark. However, I often set up the tripod at places such as the edge of a cliff, making it impossible to rotate the tripod with the mark to check the scale. It better facilitates my use of a head if the angle scale is on the head body or on both the upper and lower parts.
I arrived at the bank of Daming Lake after 4 a.m. on a freezing January 23rd, and the weather app on my cellphone read a temperature of -15°C. Despite the low temperature, the Gitzo GH3382QD ball head rotated and locked rather smoothly. I gently loosened the knob to slowly rotate the camera for an accurate composition in the viewfinder, without needing to reserve a space for camera drooping.
After 5 a.m., the lights went out around Daming Lake, but the sun didn’t rise until after 7 a.m. So I changed to another shooting location. Thanks to the smoothness of the Gitzo GH3382QD ball head, I easily got an accurate composition and quickly began shooting the second star trail.
Shooting of predawn night sky above Daming Lake, Canon G7X, star trail mode
I once shot on Mount Tai when it was -20°C. Even the camera’s LCD screen started to be unresponsive. I didn’t feel that this time though, and the battery power was sufficient. But the warm air I exhaled when framing condensed on the camera and quickly formed a layer of frost.
While shooting with a telephoto lens during the day, I particularly felt the smoothness and stability of this head, and I didn’t notice any drooping when locking it.
In the evening, unwilling to miss the valuable opportunity provided by the cold wave, I climbed Fohui Mountain in the south of downtown Ji’nan. The starry sky was clear despite the dazzling lights of the city. The temperature was -15°C or lower. My hands were frozen with pain because my gloves got wet with my sweat while climbing, and I couldn’t properly warm my hands. The carbon tripod didn’t have an insulation sleeve; it was very cold even when I held it wearing gloves.
Two days later, I went to the Pearl International Tower again and shot the starry sky and the moonrise above Ji’nan’s tallest building—the Green Center. It was windy on the roof. It can be seen from the above photo that I put the camera strap around the central axis of the tripod to prevent it from shaking due to wind. This is an important skill for shooting a starry night.
The good days brought about by the severe cold wave were limited. The haze came back to blur the buildings in the distance, making the stars disappear at night and depriving the sunrise and sunset of their enchanting colors. My Gitzo GH3382QD ball head has to sleep quietly in the tripod bag, waiting for the next time good days arrive.
Summary:
I was particularly impressed by two features of the Gitzo GH3382QD ball head. One was the use of WS2 coating on the ball surface that ensured smooth rotation, free composition adjustment, and stable tracking. The other was the large diameter, superior locking performance and stability, and light weight of the hollow ball, making it easy to carry when walking and hiking.
